Friday, August 12, 2011

2,200 Indiana students admitted to Voucher program for private schools

INDIANAPOLIS (WTW) — Indiana's new school voucher program has admitted more than 2,200 grade-school students who will receive state-funded scholarships to attend religious or private schools this school year, the Department of Education said Monday.

The program, which was part of the broad education overhaul the Legislature passed this spring and which is being challenged in court, has accepted 2,230 students since it began accepting applications last month, the Education Department said. The amount of scholarship aid students receive is based on family income.

"In just one month, thousands of Hoosier families have signed up to participate, demonstrating tremendous interest in this new opportunity. We couldn't be happier with the progress," Indiana Schools Superintendent Tony Bennett told The Associated Press.

The state has approved about 250 religious or private schools for the program, making them eligible to enroll voucher students.